In Another's Shoes
by Jesse A. Harper
Summary: Takes place after What One May Never See. Ed and Annora accidentally switch bodies, and chaos ensues. Not only do they have to fool Al and Winry, but they have to do so while finding a way to switch back. What happens when things don't go as planned?


**Warning:** If you haven't read my story 'What One May Never See', please read that first before you take a look at this fic that way you won't be completely confused and wonder what the heck I'm talking about.

**In Another's Shoes**

Annora let out a groan as she woke up slowly, thanks to the pounding pain in her skull. There had been a party at Central headquarters last night, which had consisted mainly of horrible karaoke from a large portion of the soldiers, and a great deal of food and drink. The teenager privately thought that her migraine was due to the performance that Havoc had given, which had sounded something akin someone bludgeoning a cat to death with a polo mallet. The teenager sat up and swore mentally when the room began to spin around her wildly. That was the last time she would ever go to a party like that, ever.

With a sleepy groan, the sixteen-year old went into the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto her face. With water still dripping off her face, Annora looked up at the mirror, and froze. For several moments, she stared at her reflection in disbelief before she rolled her eyes and sighed. Someone had used alchemy on the mirror to make her reflection look like Edward's.

"Ha, ha Ed, very funny," she muttered sarcastically as she once again began to splash water onto her face. It was only when she caught sight of her right hand as she brought it up to her face that she began to feel a hint of unease.

Her entire right arm was automail.

Panic began to rise up in her chest as Annora stared at her arm. What the hell had happened last night for her to need automail? The teenager frantically tried to recall the events from the night before: Havoc with his god-awful karaoke, Ed and Al being dragged onstage to perform some very dumb tricks with alchemy, Major Armstrong doing some sort of skit that involved tearing off his shirt, Colonel Mustang giving her some weird drink…

Annora sweatdropped as the memory came back to her. That drink had tasted pretty weird to begin with…for some strange reason, she wouldn't put it past Mustang to spike her drink with something.

"That bastard," she whispered, only to stop before she could continue with her venting. She hadn't noticed it earlier, but her voice sounded different, deeper. Annora looked back at the mirror and scowled; the reflection of Ed scowled back.

"Whoever did this to be funny is going to die," the sixteen-year old grumbled in irritation as she reached behind her to do one last check to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

She pulled her hair forward and stared at it in shock.

Instead of her normal waist-length, honey brown hair, she held a short, golden braid in her left hand. It took every ounce of self-control that Annora possessed for her not to scream. There was only one person that she knew that had that sort of hair, and that was a certain chibi alchemist. The teenager immediately smacked herself on the forehead with her right hand, and promptly regretted it. The pain was real, and so was the automail.

"Damn it!" she growled, massaging the spot where she had hit herself. "This isn't a dream."

A sigh escaped Annora's lips as she scrutinized herself closely; there was no way of getting around it, somehow, she had ended up in Ed's body. The corner of her mouth twitched up in an ironic smile before another thought hit her. If she looked like Ed, where was the real Edward Elric?

"Oh, this is going to be a long day," she muttered as she reached over and turned off the faucet. It was only then that she noticed that all she was wearing were a pair of light blue boxers and a black tank top. The teenager's cheeks burned red from embarrassment before she shot out of the bathroom, and promptly tripped over a pair of Ed's shoes that had been thrown down on the floor.

Annora grumbled a steady stream of creative curses as she picked herself of the floor and glared at the hapless footwear before she noticed the pair of black pants lying next to them. A sigh of relief escaped her unconsciously as she pulled on the pants; she did **not **want to be running around in a shirt and boxers. Just as she had located Ed's black jacket (thrown carelessly onto his desk), a sound behind her caused her to jump.

"Brother, you're up early."

Annora looked over her shoulder to see Alphonse looking at her steadily, his red eyes unblinking. The teenager mentally steeled herself to act normal; if anyone could tell the difference between Edward and an imposter, it would be Alphonse.

"Hey, Al. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

The possessed suit of armor stared at her for a few moments intently.

"Brother, are you alright?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, why?" Annora felt a bead of sweat develop on her forehead and resisted the urge to wipe it off.

"Well, you were pretty out of it last night," Al pointed out. "I had to carry you home, and Annora was barely able to walk straight without my help."

"Oh." Annora inwardly cringed at this. She barely remembered the trip back home, and strangely enough, that might be a good thing. "I have a headache, but nothing else is wrong. I'll go check to make sure that 'Annora's' okay."

"Thank you," Alphonse nodded before his eyes faded and he went back to 'sleep'.

Annora breathed yet another sigh of relief as she pulled on the jacket and fastened the metal clip on the collar and began to pull on Ed's boots. Once she had finished this task, she stood up and went out into the hallway outside the room that Ed and Al shared and closed the door behind her before she crossed the hall and stopped outside her door. The sixteen-year old took a deep breath and opened her door cautiously. Once she was inside, an interesting sight greeted her.

There, on her bed, lay her, or more accurately, her body, sprawled out on the mattress on her back with a thin trail of drool coming out of her mouth. Annora sweatdropped as she viewed the scene before her in interest. She was pretty sure that she didn't look like that sleeping and she **knew** that she did **not** drool in her sleep.

'_Well, this'll be fun,'_ she thought sarcastically as she knelt down by the bed at eye level with the sleeper. Tentatively, she reached out and poked her body on the shoulder.

"Hey, wake up!" she whispered urgently. Her body only groaned and rolled over, muttering something about being left alone. Annora's right eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance.

"Oi, I **said** wake up!" she growled. No response.

Annora glared at the prone form of the sleeper in irritation as she stood up. It was time to break out the heavy artillery.

"Shorty."

Her body bolted upright and brown eyes flew open to reveal anger burning deep within them.

"Who're you calling so short that they can ride a mouse?!" the sleeper raged as they shot out of bed to face Annora.

'_Yep, it's Ed,'_ Annora thought dryly as she looked back at the other teenager calmly. Ed, on the other hand, did not seem to share her calm, seeing as the moment that he realized that he was looking at himself, he attempted to punch Annora.

"Ack!" the sixteen-year old yelped as she almost fell backwards in an attempt to avoid being punched in the face.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" Edward growled, fury blazing in his eyes. Annora felt distinctly nervous at the fact had she been in his position, she would have promptly kicked the offending individual's ass into another time zone. That, and the fact that Ed was notorious for having a short temper, did nothing to help.

'_Oh, I am so dead,'_ she realized.

"You're a homunculus, aren't you?" Ed spat as he drew back his right fist to try to punch her again. Annora's right eye began to twitch violently as she stared at her friend.

"No, I'm not," she replied tersely, the weirdness of the morning starting to catch up with her. "And you might want to take a look at yourself before you try to punch me again."

Ed snorted in disbelief at her comment. "What the hell are supposed to mean by that?"

Annora let out a groan on irritation and smacked her face with her left hand. "Just look at your hands, idiot."

Ed raised an eyebrow, but surprisingly did as she asked. Annora felt a small amount of satisfaction at the sharp intake of breath that Ed had at the sight of two whole, _female_ hands, in the place of his usual mismatched automail and human hands. What he did next completely threw Annora; he lifted the collar of the nightshirt that Annora had worn to bed the night before out and looked down.

All of the blood promptly drained from Ed's face at the sight. He looked up to see Annora standing in front of him with her fist clenched and a dangerous look in her eyes.

"You had better look somewhere else before I **personally** kick your ass," she gritted out as a fiery aura blazed up behind her. Ed hastily began to back away from the pissed off teenager, his eyes wide. He was now fully aware as to who he was dealing with.

"Annora, calm down!" he protested as he fell backwards onto her bed. The sixteen-year old looked at the panicked alchemist and reined in any homicidal urges. Ed looked at her and let out a sigh of relief when he realized that Annora wasn't going to kill him, yet.

"So, you're in my body, and I'm in your body, huh?" she muttered sarcastically. "Oh, this is just **wonderful**."

Ed raised an eyebrow in question. "But how did it happen?"

"I don't know. When I woke up, I was in your body and in your disaster area of a room. Oh, **and **I have one hell of headache," Annora pointed out, golden eyes flashing with irritation. Ed quirked an eyebrow at her comment.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, considering that you were drunk off your ass last night and Al had to carry you home, it has to do with everything," Annora frowned as a fragment of a memory came back to her. "Although, apparently, I wasn't much better. According to Al, it was all he could do to keep me walking in a straight line."

"How the hell was I drunk? I didn't have any alcohol last night! The only thing that I had to drink was some punch that the bastard Colonel gave me!"

Annora froze before she turned around slowly to stare at Edward. "Colonel Mustang gave me something that he called 'punch', but I didn't drink that much because it tasted like crap."

"What'd you do with it?"

"Pitched it."

"Where?"

"In a trash can, duh."

Little oni-bi's appeared around Ed's head as he stared at her. Annora raised an eyebrow in question as she looked at him.

"What?"

"I drank the whole damn thing," Ed muttered. "In one gulp."

"Well, that would explain a lot," Annora grumbled sarcastically. "Did anything else happen that was unusual?"

"Define unusual."

Annora thought about that for a moment. "True, everything that happened last night was pretty much insane."

Both teens looked at each other and shuddered; they had still been lucid when a very drunk Fuery and Breda had gone onstage and done a strip show. A sight that they **both **very much wanted to forget.

"So, did the Colonel offer you 'punch' before or after the two losers went onstage?" Ed asked.

"After. He said that he should have them both court marshaled just for the mental scarring they caused everyone else."

"Same here."

The two teenagers looked at each other as realization dawned upon them. Annora's eyes widened as she came to the same conclusion that Ed had come to.

"He wouldn't have," she growled.

"Don't bet on that," Ed remarked snidely. "With that damn bastard, anything's possible."

A scowl came across Annora's face before she strode over to the small wooden dresser in her room, pulled out some clothes, and threw them at Ed.

"Get dressed. I think we need to go over to headquarters to have a little chat with Colonel Mustang."

Ed stared at the clothes that Annora had thrown at him with an expression of disbelief and horror etched onto his features before he looked up at Annora.

"I can't wear these!" he protested. "They're girl clothes!"

Annora let out an irritated growl as she spun around to face her friend.

"Well guess what Ed, right now, you **are **a girl! So deal with it!"

"I am not! I may be in a girl's body, but I'm still a guy!"

"Ed, the human soul is asexual. That means that technically, right now, you're a girl and I'm a boy. We just need to deal with it and find out how to switch back. Until then, chill."

"But-"

"No buts! Now you will wear those, even if I have to clothe you myself; and I can grantee you that if I have to do that, the experience will **not **be pleasant!" Annora stared at the bewildered alchemist for a few seconds before she took a deep breath to calm down. "Besides, if you really want to get technical, those shirts are actually boys' shirts."

Ed rolled his eyes, but began to get dressed, grumbling under his breath the entire time. Annora watched him out of the corner of her eye as she stared out of the window to her room pensively, drumming the fingers on her right hand along her left arm nervously. The teenager had a feeling that today was going to be a very trying one.

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Annora raised a critical eyebrow as she walked through the halls past several members of the military in various stages of recovery from the previous night's party. Havoc looked positively green as he lay slumped down on his desk. The man cracked open one eye as Ed and Annora walked past him, its bloodshot iris staring at them balefully.

"Don't walk so loud," he muttered painfully as his eye slid shut slowly. Edward and Annora both looked at each other in astonishment, their eyes wide.

"Okay, that's a little creepy," Annora pointed out as she walked past the man, who was obviously nursing a painful hangover. Ed nodded in agreement as he followed Annora, staring at the sandy-haired man in disbelief.

"Yeah. Looks like Fuery and Breda weren't the only ones that got blitzed last night," he muttered. "You know it's bad when he's not even smoking."

A shudder ran through Annora's body as she turned around to face Ed, her golden eyes serious.

"Please, don't **ever **talk about that again," she muttered in a pained tone. "It's bad enough that I had to see that once, much less talk about it."

Ed frowned, but nodded in agreement. Annora allowed herself to indulge in one last small shudder at the thought right before she came up to the door to Mustang's office. The blond-haired teenager looked at the heavy oak doors apprehensively before she reached out and knocked smartly on the polished surface.

"Either come in or go away," the Flame Alchemist snarled tersely from the other side, the tone of his voice indicating that to come in would be to court death.

"Hangover?" Ed asked softly, a small grin crossing his lips. Annora smirked back in reply as she reached out for the doorknob.

"Sure sounds like it."

Annora opened the door to reveal a very crabby Colonel Mustang seated at his desk, staring at them with bloodshot eyes and a scowl planted firmly onto his features. The older man raised an eyebrow when he saw who it was.

"Fullmetal? What brings you here?"

Annora decided to cut to the chase. "What the hell did you put in our drinks last night?"

A sadistic grin slowly made its way across Mustang's face as he stared at the two teenagers. Realization hit Annora as she registered why the other man's mood had changed.

'_That son of a- he did this on purpose!'_

"So, what happened last night, Fullmetal?" he asked, hidden amusement flickering in his dark eyes.

"Why, don't you know?" Annora snarled, her golden eyes flashing. Mustang smirked at her and Ed, who was doing his best to remain quiet.

"I don't make it my business to know what a runt does outside of the military. Besides, all I did was slip a little of this into your drinks," Mustang pulled a small glass bottle out of his pocket and held it up in the air for emphasis. Annora ground her teeth audibly as she glared at the older man.

"What does it do?" she gritted out.

"It's supposed to react in a similar way as alcohol, only more so. This liquid is more fine tuned to cause the drinker to loose control over their inhibitions, causing them to perform acts that they would normally never do."

Annora twitched visibly as she fought back the urge to kill the arrogant colonel where he sat. She had to grab Ed's right arm to prevent him from lunging at Mustang and shook her head slightly, indicating to her friend that now was not the time. So she settled for verbally expressing her displeasure.

"Bastard," she spat. Mustang raised his eyebrows in question at this comment.

"Is something wrong Fullmetal? Usually, you're much more verbal when you're angry, especially when it's me you're talking to."

Annora panicked momentarily. What the hell was she going to say in response to that? Fortunately, an idea came to mind.

"That crap that you dumped into my drink made me pass out, Colonel Bastard, and gave me a fucking headache! Why shouldn't I be out of it?!"

The Flame Alchemist smirked annoyingly at her. "Awww, does the runt have a widdle headache?" he cooed mockingly. Ed opened his mouth in response, only for Annora to beat him to it.

"Who're you calling a runt so short that an ant can step on them?!" she raged in true Edward fashion. Mustang rolled his eyes and scowled.

"Both of you, get out of here before I have you thrown out," he ordered, pointing at the door for emphasis. "And don't slam the door."

Annora smirked as soon as she had turned her back. She waited until Edward was out, and slammed the heavy oak door shut behind her.

"**FULLMETAL**!" Mustang roared from within his office. Annora smirked once again as she grabbed Ed's hand and dragged him away before the irate colonel could come after them to vent his ire.

"Are you insane?" Ed hissed as he glared at her. "You're going to get **me **in trouble if you keep this up! Besides, you didn't find out if the Colonel Bastard did this to us on purpose!"

"He didn't," Annora muttered, letting go of Edward's hand and shoving her hands deep into the pockets of Ed's bright red trench coat. "He didn't know anything about what happened. I could tell."

Ed looked at her incredulously and raised an eyebrow. "And how'd you know this?"

"Because he did the same thing he always does when he talks to you; acts like a complete ass and pokes fun at your height."

Ed twitched visibly at this comment and he glared at Annora.

"Are you calling me short?" he asked in a dangerous tone. Annora rolled her eyes upwards as if requesting heavenly guidance. When she realized that none was going to come anytime soon, she looked back over at her friend.

"No. But it is kind of sad that you had to trade places with a girl to get taller," Annora shot back, a faint smirk making its way across her face. Ed looked like he was about to blow up, only to be interrupted by Major Armstrong coming around the corner. Ed flinched, and then began to smirk when he realized that he was out of danger. Annora, on the other hand, looked like she was about to face a firing squad.

"Aw, **shit**," she groaned softly. "Somewhere, I just **know **that there's one sick and twisted being laughing its ass off over this."

Fortunately, fate was on her side, for the moment.

"Edric Elward," Major Armstrong slurred, his eyes bloodshot. "So good to see you!"

Annora managed a strained smile as she attempted to slowly back away from the larger man. "It's good to see you too, Major."

Armstrong took an uneasy step forward and flexed his muscles.

"I have developed a new technique for my Strong Arm alchemy," he announced. "I now wish to show you the fruits of my labor."

With that announcement, he ripped his dark blue military shirt off and promptly passed out cold on the floor. Annora looked over at Edward, who was also staring at the fallen giant.

"You bastard," she hissed, "You were **enjoying** that!"

Ed shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "It **was **pretty funny."

"Funny?! I damn near wet myself because of that!"

Ed shrugged again and smirked. "So? Besides, you need to watch what you call me; if you're going to insult me right now, I'm a bitch, not a bastard."

Annora turned an interesting shade of red and cursed a bit more colorfully as she whirled around and stalked off in the direction of the front door. Ed followed her, struggling a bit to keep up with Annora's fast pace.

The only person that they passed that seemed relatively sober was Lieutenant Hawkeye. When she caught sight of the two teenagers, she stopped and greeted them.

"Edward, Annora, what are you two doing here so early?" she asked. Annora looked up at her and nodded her head in greeting.

"I just had to talk with the Colonel about something and 'Annora' just wanted to come along with me."

Ed just rolled his eyes up at the ceiling and was about to make a rude comment, only to be stopped by the intense glare that Annora sent his way. Annora then bowed slightly to Hawkeye and grabbed Ed's arm as she set off towards the front door.

"See you later, I still have something that I need to take care of!" she called out over her shoulder. Hawkeye blinked before she turned around, shaking her head as she did so.

"Kids," she muttered with a small smile on her lips.

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An early morning breeze sent Annora's now golden bangs flying into her face, the cold wind creeping up through the sleeves of her jacket. The teenager looked up at the almost completely lighted sky and stared at the passing clouds for a few moments before she leveled her gaze and let out a long suffering sigh. Ed looked over at her curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I just can't help but think that we should tell someone about this," Annora admitted as she looked at Edward out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe Alphonse, or Colonel Mustang-"

"No! There is no way in **hell **that I'm gonna tell the bastard Colonel about this! He'll just laugh his ass off over this!" Ed shot back heatedly, his brown eyes flashing angrily. Annora rolled her eyes and let out an aggravated groan.

"We don't have to tell Mustang," Annora pointed out in a tone that most people would recognize as dangerously calm. "We could tell Al. He might be able to help us get this whole mess sorted out."

Ed made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat in response. "Yeah right. This is our problem and we're the ones that need to fix it. I'm not going to get him involved in this; I've already dragged him into enough trouble as it is."

Annora opened her mouth to reply just as she caught sight of a massive, muscular shape coming at them like a charging bull. The teenager lunged forward, grabbed the back of Ed's jacket, and dragged him forward with her just as the spot on the brick pavement where they had been standing exploded. The force of the blast sent the two of them flying, with Annora landing on her back on the pavement and Ed landing right on top of her stomach, knocking the wind right from Annora's lungs.

"Get…off…can't breathe," Annora gasped out, her eyes wide. Ed quickly scrambled off of her and glared at their assailant.

"Scar," Ed growled, his eyes hard. Annora looked at the muscular Ishbalan and groaned mentally as she stood up. She needed this she needed a hole in the head. The teenager flinched from her bad analogy; if what Ed had told her about the man was true, she might very well end up with one.

"Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, your time has come," Scar stated coldly. Annora began to back away slowly, leading the taller man away from Ed. Fortunately for her, Ed didn't notice that Annora had maneuvered the Ishbalan away from him until it was too late for him to do anything.

"Die."

"Nah, I don't think so," Annora quipped as she dodged Scar's right hand, skidding backwards easily. "My fondest wish is to live to see eighteen. So if you kill me now, I'll just die without ever fulfilling my wish, and I really don't think you want me to haunt you for the rest of your natural life."

Ed's jaw almost hit the ground in shock as he stared at Annora. Did she just say what he thought she said?

"Do you think that you may mock me?" Scar asked in a dangerous tone. Annora paled slightly in response as she realized the sheer stupidity of her smart-ass comment.

"Aw shit," she muttered as she jumped backwards to avoid being grabbed by Scar. A series of extremely foul and creative curses flew from Annora's mouth as her left foot hit a patch of ice and shot out from underneath her, causing her to land flat on her back. Annora barely managed to roll away from the spot where she had landed before Scar decomposed that area. He was so close that Annora could have reached out and touched the massive white 'X' that scarred the Ishbalan's dark forehead, not that she wanted to.

An idea flashed through the sixteen-year old's mind as she leapt to her feet, golden eyes landing on the fountain that she and Scar were nearby. Annora smirked evilly as she shot towards the stone structure, a plan formulating within her mind. Scar tore after her, too intent on destroying the teenage alchemist to notice that the 'boy' was planning something. Ed on the other hand, recognized the look that he knew all too well; it was usually the look that Annora wore whenever she was about to extract a painful and diabolical revenge.

The teenager clapped her hands together and slammed them down onto the stone rim of the fountain, creating a flash of bright blue light and a wave of water rushing straight at Scar. The older man was swamped before he realized it; Annora took that chance to freeze the water, creating an ice-covered statue of a certain serial murder. It was only then that two voices distracted her from her task.

"Brother! What happened?!"

"Fullmetal, get out of the way!"

Annora turned around partially just as Ed slammed into her midriff and knocked her down onto the icy paving stones, allowing the wave of fire that Colonel Mustang had sent in Scar's direction to pass overhead harmlessly.

"You idiot!" Edward seethed as he pinned her down to the ground. "Were you **trying **to get yourself killed?!"

Annora settled for just looking in another direction, and swore when she caught sight of Scar. Colonel Mustang's fire had almost completely melted the ice around Scar, thinning the frozen water enough that the man could break free.

"You dumbass!" Annora raged as she stood up and placed herself in front of Ed, glaring at Mustang furiously. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

Any further words that might have been exchanged were interrupted by Scar throwing himself at Annora. The teenager shoved Ed out of the way and barely avoided being grabbed by the huge Ishbalan herself.

'_Shit, he's fast!' _Annora realized belatedly as Scar whirled around and grabbed the front of her jacket. The huge man lifted her up easily and threw her bodily into a nearby brick wall, where Annora heard something crack on impact. A low groan escaped from her mouth as she struggled to stand up before Scar could reach her. When Annora tried to move her right arm, the most she could manage was to move her fingers.

Golden eyes widened in horror as a cold feeling of dread went down Annora's spine: her automail was broken.

She was so screwed.

Scar stopped just in front of Annora just as the teenager sent him a hate-filled glare, clapped her left hand against her motionless right one, and slammed them down onto the ground with all the force she could muster. A gigantic stone hand flew upwards right into the other man's stomach, sending him flying right out of the square. Annora watched the rapidly diminishing figure for a moment before she sat down against the brick wall.

"Bastard," she whispered, leaning her head back against the wall.

A sharp blow to the head knocked her out of her stupor.

"You idiot, why were you so reckless?" Alphonse demanded angrily. Annora looked up at him, and then over at the military members that were headed their way, accompanied by Ed.

"Look, Al, I didn't have a choice! He just came out of nowhere!"

Ed ran up to her, his lips pursed tightly. Annora shrank back; she knew that she was gonna be in for it.

"What's wrong with your arm?" he demanded as Annora stood up.

"Something snapped when I hit the wall," she admitted. "And now I can't move my arm, only my fingers."

Alphonse just shook his head and let out a sigh. "Winry's right, you really are hard on your automail. You're probably going to have to go in to see her for repairs."

Annora went an interesting shade of white at this comment, as did Ed.

"Actually, it doesn't feel that bad. I probably just popped a bolt lose or something like that!" Annora babbled frantically just before she spun around and attempted to run away, only to have Ed grab the back of her jacket and yank her backwards.

"I don't think so," he stated coldly. "If your automail's broken, then you need to get it fixed. To do that, you need to go see your mechanic, right?"

'_Oh God, he's gonna get me killed! Last time we visited Winry, she smacked __**me **__upside the head with a wrench by accident and knocked Ed senseless. What's she gonna do to me when __**I'm **__the one that broke her precious masterpiece?!'_

The unholy grin on the Fullmetal Alchemist's face told Annora all she needed to know. She was doomed.

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**One hour and multiple arguments later**

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Annora stared out the train window listlessly with her chin resting on the palm of her left hand, her eyes clouded over as she allowed her thoughts to run rampant.

'_I wonder what's going to happen to me and Ed? So far, this day has been nothing more than one bad thing after another, and it seems to continually get worse! I just want my body back, is that too much to ask?!'_

A depressed sigh escaped from her mouth as she continued to stare off into space.

'_Man, can this day get any worse?'_

"Brother?"

Annora snapped out of her mental musings and promptly cracked her head against the glass of the window. The teenager gritted her teeth as she rubbed at the sore spot tenderly.

"Brother, are you okay?" Alphonse asked worriedly. Annora looked up at him and offered a strained smile in response.

"Guess that's what I get for not paying attention, huh Al?"

Al looked at her steadily. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

Several beads of sweat appeared on the back of the 'alchemist's' head. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You've been really…jumpy lately. Actually, you've been acting strange ever since this morning."

Annora almost fell off the seat in surprise, but managed to catch herself in time. When she tried to raise her right hand up to rub the back of her neck, she found that she still couldn't move it from the sling that it had been put in. With an annoyed sigh, Annora looked at Alphonse.

"If you really want to know, that bastard Colonel spiked my drink last night just so he could get a few laughs out of it." Annora thought for a moment before adding, "He spiked Annora's drink too."

Alphonse looked over at Ed, who had been asleep for the past hour, and shook his head.

"And Annora didn't kill him?" he asked.

"She wanted to." _'Oh, if you only knew Al, if you only knew.'_

The possessed suit of armor nodded his head in understanding. "No wonder you've been so crabby today Brother."

"What makes you say that I'm crabby?!"

"Well right now, you're yelling."

Annora stared at Alphonse for a few moments before she returned her attention to the landscape outside the train window with an offended huff. Al let out a small giggle, which earned him a glare from Annora.

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"C'mon, don't tell me that the great 'Fullmetal Alchemist' is scared of a girl!" Ed remarked tauntingly as he strolled along the dirt road behind Annora, a huge smirk on his face. Annora turned around just enough to glare at him venomously. A night spent on a moving train with the smell of unwashed bodies hanging about in the air had done nothing to improver her temper, which was already dangerously close to the fraying point.

"Shut it," she growled, golden eyes narrowed dangerously. Ed only smirked back at her annoyingly. Annora whirled around with a curse and stalked off ahead, fighting the almost overwhelming urge to respond with an obscene hand gesture.

'_Of all the lousy things to happen, it __**has **__to be this! Damn it, if I __**ever **__get the chance anytime soon, I'm gonna smack Ed into the next fucking county! Damn him! The only reason that bastard's so smug right now is that he doesn't have to worry about Winry smacking him stupid with a wrench!'_

Annora was shaken out of her thoughts by Den bounding up to her and letting out a series of happy barks. The teenager stared at the dog for a few moments before she bent down and scratched behind one of the dog's floppy ears.

"Oh, Hi Den!" Alphonse shouted out as the black dog ran over to him and greeted him with a courtesy sniff. Just as Al was about to reach down to pet him, the dog suddenly let out a whine and hid behind Al's legs.

"What's wrong, boy?"

"ED! I TOLD YOU TO CALL ME THE NEXT TIME YOU NEEDED REPAIRS!" Winry roared as she ran out onto the second story balcony, her expression thunderous. Annora paled drastically at this statement; the fact that she had also spotted the wrench that Winry had a death grip on might have had something to do with it as well.

"Oh shit," she whispered, and barely managed to avoid being creamed by said wrench by ducking. Annora stood up and allowed a groan of relief to escape her mouth just as Winry heaved a full metal tool chest at her and smacked her full on in the forehead with a resounding 'clang'.

Ed stared at the sight before him in shock, and a little relief. At least he had never been hit with a tool box for breaking his automail. Annora sat up and glared at him, the look in her eyes promising him that she would give him hell the first chance that she got. Ed merely gave her a knowing smile, which he knew would only irritate her even more.

"Brother, are you alright?!" Alphonse cried out as he ran over to Annora and helped her to her feet. Once the suit of armor had taken a step back and helped Annora dust herself off, the teenager rubbed the lump on her forehead and winced.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered. "If you don't count the concussion that is."

Winry, by this point, had gone downstairs and come outside to meet them.

"I didn't hit you **that **hard, you baby," she pointed out.

"Wanna bet?" Annora muttered under her breath. Winry glared at her in response before she grabbed the front of her jacket and dragged her inside the house, with Ed and Al following them.

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"So, have you two found what you've been looking for yet?" Winry asked conversationally as she tightened the bolts on Annora's arm. Annora gritted her teeth as she fought the urge to make some sarcastic comment, knowing that the moment that she did, she'd get smacked upside the head with the wrench that Winry was using, which was a continual source of amusement for Ed. Fortunately for her, Alphonse answered the question.

"No, not yet. We've found a couple of leads so far, but nothing really concrete."

Ed made an irritated sound in the back of his throat at this statement, causing Annora to shoot a warning look in his direction. Winry and Alphonse paid no attention to their silent staring match, more focused on their own conversation. Ed raised an eyebrow delicately as he looked at Annora, who still lay of her stomach, and then allowed an evil grin to cross his face. He silently pulled out the collar of the shirt that he was wearing and looked down. The effect was immediate.

"Why you…" Annora growled as she pushed herself off the couch, only to have Winry cream her in the head with her wrench.

"Hold still, Ed! I can't fix your automail if you keep squirming around like that!"

Annora collapsed back onto the couch, her eyes spinning dizzily. This just was **not **her day. Ed just looked at her, thankful that for once, he wasn't on the receiving end of Winry's violence.

'_This just __**sucks**__,' _Annora thought bitterly as she regained her senses just in time to be smacked once again.

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'_Argh! I hate this! Why did Winry insist that we stay for another day?' _Annora fumed silently as she stared out the window to 'his' room. The teenager knew perfectly well why they were still here. Winry had politely asked that the trio spend the night in Resembool; politely meaning that she had a wrench gripped in her hand while she had asked. Annora, having absolutely no desire to receive another concussion, had immediately agreed.

'_I swear, when I get my body back, I'm gonna __**kill**__ Ed. Preferably using high-grade explosives.'_

A knocking sound startled Annora out of her thoughts. She looked over at the door and raised an eyebrow when Winry poked her head in and looked at her.

"Ed, dinner's ready," she pointed out. The teenager nodded her head in thanks as she turned around and went over to the door.

"Thanks, I'm starved."

Winry looked over at her curiously out of the corner of her eye as they walked down the stairs.

"Hey Ed, are you feeling alright? You've been acting a little… odd lately."

Annora fought back the panic that welled up in her throat at this comment.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" she asked in what she hoped was a calm voice as they went down the stairs.

"Well, it's just that you've been acting a little more… mature, and that's not really like you."

It was at that point that Pinako Rockbell called out from the dining room.

"Hurry up runt; otherwise we'll get started without you!"

It took a moment, but then Annora registered that the woman was talking to her, and what her expected response was to be.

'_Please, someone, just kill me now,'_ she groaned mentally as she stormed down the stairs, leaving Winry behind.

"What'd you just call me?!" she shouted. Pinako just grinned at her.

"Well, you are a runt, Ed. You've barely grown 2 cm. since the last time you were here."

"Says you, guppy granny!"

"Oh, you're one to talk, chibi chump!"

"Half-pint hag!"

"Miniature midget!"

"Senile delinquent!"

"Bean sprout!"

Ed and Al both watched the scene before them in astonishment, their eyes wide.

'_This is… weird, she's acting angrier than I usually do,' _Ed thought as he watched the argument in interest.

"Umm… Brother?" Alphonse began hesitantly as he stood up. When Annora ignored him, the possessed suit of armor stood up and grabbed the back of her black jacket before dragging the teenager over to the table and forcing her into the seat next to him.

"Brother, just because **you're **in a bad mood doesn't mean that you need to make everyone else miserable too."

Ed snickered at this comment, which caused Annora to glare at him venomously, her golden eyes hard.

"It's not funny," she muttered, crossing her arms and glaring down at the floor with an offended huff. Winry, who had just entered the dining room by this point, raised her eyebrows.

"Hey Ed, you know what I said about you acting more mature?"

"Yeah."

"Forget about it."

Annora almost fell over, while Ed scowled in response to the girl's comment. Pinako looked at the two teenagers thoughtfully before she shrugged and sat down before saying grace. Once this process had been completed, everyone dug in. Annora barely said anything throughout the entire meal, merely chewing her food methodically and thinking. Edward on the other hand, was scarfing for all he was worth, ignoring the occasional pointed glare that Annora sent his way.

Winry and Alphonse both looked over at each other and the former raised an eyebrow. Something strange was going on, and they wanted to know what.

(AN: And if Winry wants to know something, believe me, she **will** find out, regardless on whether you want her to or not.)

The opportunity arose when Pinako got up to answer the door when a customer knocked on it. Winry and Alphonse both stood up, taking the empty plates on the table with them before they went into the kitchen. Once they set the dishes down in the sink, the two teens crept over to the open door leading to the dining room and listened intently.

Annora looked over in the direction that their friends had gone before she glared at Edward, her expression thunderous.

"Knock it **off**," she hissed acidly, her now golden eyes flashing in thinly veiled warning. Edward looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Knock what off?" he asked in an innocent tone. Annora allowed a sound of annoyance to escape her throat as she clenched her fist in an effort not to lose her temper.

"You know **damn **good and well what I'm talking about," she growled. "I swear, the next time you decide to act like a pervert, I **will **smack your sorry ass into the next time zone."

"How will you manage that without hurting yourself?"

"I'll find a way."

Ed, deciding to be completely immature for a moment, pulled his lower eyelid down with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out at Annora. The teenager stared at him before she spat out a foul curse and pushed her chair out vehemently, standing up and grabbing her dirty dishes before she stalked out of the dining room into the kitchen in a foul mood.

Winry and Al barely managed to get to the sink and make the motions of washing dishes before Annora entered the kitchen. The teenager set her dishes down in the sink and let out an aggravated sigh. Alphonse timidly went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, slightly nervous. Annora turned around and looked at him with her clear golden gaze.

"What is it?" she asked. The possessed suit of armor fiddled nervously with the dishtowel in his hands, knowing that his brother might just get angry again.

"Brother, are you alright? You've been really agitated since you woke up yesterday morning."

Something flashed deep within Annora's eyes at this comment before she let out a world-weary sigh and looked down. It hurt her to be lying to Alphonse like this, but she didn't want to drag him into this whole mess that she and Ed were in.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just… need to rest for a bit."

Al looked at her strangely. "Were you and Annora fighting?"

The teenager's head snapped over in his direction and something blazed deep within golden orbs before it faded from sight. Annora let out another sigh as she turned around and left the kitchen, headed for her room.

Winry and Alphonse both looked at each other in surprise: something was **definitely **going on, and they intended to find out.

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Annora lay on her back on the bed in her room with the door shut. With almost morbid interest, she raised her right arm up in the air and looked at it. Normally, she was right-handed, so it was fairly disconcerting to no longer be able to feel things with it, not to mention seeing a metal hand in place of flesh whenever she wasn't wearing gloves.

'_What on earth did I do to deserve this?' _she wondereddully as she sat up, her eyes misting over as she stared unseeingly at the wall in front of her. The teenager let out another sigh as she flopped back down on her back._ 'Not to mention what did Ed do to deserve this? All he and Al wanted was to see their mother again, yet it resulted in this mess where Ed tries to take it all on his shoulders just so he and Al can have a semi-normal life.'_

_**Ah, but you wanted to see him again, no matter what the cost,**_ her conscience nagged. _**You ask what you've ever done to deserve this, but perhaps this is the price you pay for being selfish. **_

"I'm not being selfish!" Annora muttered rebelliously as she shot up into a sitting position and clapped her hands together in front of her in an attempt to dispel her doubts. She immediately regretted the action, seeing as her hand stung from hitting the metal one.

"You might want to be careful about doing that," Ed warned as he leaned up against the door frame. Annora jumped about a foot in the air in surprise, and promptly fell off the bed with a loud 'thump'. The startled teenager looked up from her spot on the floor and made a face as she pushed herself up.

"How long have you been there?!" she demanded angrily. Ed shrugged noncommittally as he looked at her steadily, his brown eyes serious. Annora frowned as she stood up and brushed herself off: it was only mildly disconcerting to see her face looking back at her in place of Ed's.

"Long enough," he pointed out. Annora shot him a filthy look as she turned around and went over to the window, crossing her arms across her chest.

"So, how are you being selfish?"

The teenager made a strangled noise in the back of her throat as she whirled around to face Edward, her face a vivid crimson as embarrassment caused her to blush hotly.

"Y-you heard that?!"

Ed raised an eyebrow delicately as he shut the door to the room behind him.

"You didn't notice me come in, did you?"

Annora made a face as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. The teenage alchemist walked over to where she stood and looked into her eyes, his now mahogany orbs gazing into her own golden ones.

"Annora, what's bothering you?"

The sixteen-year old looked over at him and all of a sudden, the dam holding back all of the fear and uncertainty that had been steadily building up throughout the past two days burst. Annora buried her head on Edward's shoulder and sobbed, muttering things through her tears that the Fullmetal Alchemist was unable to decipher. An astonished look crossed the teenager's face before he wrapped his arms around Annora and pulled her close to him, allowing her to weep on his shoulder.

Little oni-bi's appeared around Ed's head as he realized just how weird this sight would look to anyone he knew. People would think that he had lost it if they saw 'him' crying into 'Annora's' shoulder. The teenager shrugged mentally as he peered at Annora through honey brown bangs. At least here no one could see them.

Oh how wrong he was.

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"Move over Al!" Winry hissed as she strained to listen to the conversation taking place in the other room with her ear pressed to the door. "I can't hear what they're talking about!"

The possessed suit of armor scooted over a few inches to allow the girl access to the door. Suddenly, an idea came to him. If he'd had a mouth, Alphonse would have grinned as he pulled out a piece of white chalk from the pouch strapped to his thigh. As it was, his red eyes sparkled impishly as he held out the chalk in front of him. Winry looked over at him and grinned.

"What are you going to do?" she asked as she moved aside to allow the fifteen-year old access to the door to draw a transmutation circle.

"Nothing that Brother and Annora will notice. It's just a little something that will allow us to hear their conversation."

Winry cocked her head in interest as she watched Al place his hand on the transmutation circle and use alchemy to create expand the keyhole, allowing them both a clearer view of the room. The boy pressed his gauntleted finger up to where his lips would have been, indicating that they should be quite before they crept close to the door and listened intently to the conversation taking place within.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed waited until Annora had finished crying before he spoke.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked gently. Annora nodded as she wiped away the remnants of the tears that she had shed with the sleeve of her black jacket.

"Yeah. I guess if I don't get this off my chest, it'll just get worse and worse."

Ed made a sound of agreement as he sat down on the bed and indicated for Annora to do the same. The teenager kicked off her boots and flopped down on the bed next to Edward, who just shook his head.

"So, perhaps you could explain to me the reason behind your 'I'm not being selfish' comment?" he prodded. Annora blushed once again as she suddenly became interested in the wooden floorboards.

"Well… when I went back home in the middle of that fight with all those Homunculi, I was really upset when I woke up in my own room. I-I cried for the first time in … well… since when I first found out that Ethan had enlisted. I just… I felt like a part of me had been ripped away and nothing would be able to heal it, ever."

Ed's eyes widened at this statement as he looked over in shock at Annora. She continued her narrative, not noticing his astonished look.

"My heart actually hurt at the thought that I would never be able to see you again. And I ended up thinking that I would give anything to see you again, I didn't care what it took. But, when you and Al showed up at my school and helped me and Katie stop Envy and Lust, I was … so happy. I was happy because the moment I realized that you were the one that had caught me, my heart stopped hurting."

By this point, Ed's jaw was almost touching the floorboards as he gaped at Annora, who had a slight blush on her cheek as she looked down at her hands, which lay folded in her lap. Ed soon regained his composure as he leaned back and closed his eyes while rubbing the back of his neck. Annora looked over at him and her expression saddened as she looked downwards.

"Yeah, I know it's kinda … dumb," she muttered lamely. Ed's attention snapped over to her immediately, and his chocolate gaze narrowed slightly as he reached out and grabbed Annora's chin, turning her face towards his. Gold eyes widened in surprise as all coherent thoughts fled Annora's mind.

"E-Ed?" she managed to get out before the Fullmetal Alchemist pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. When Edward deepened the kiss, all thoughts, except those on the individual in front of her, fled Annora's mind at light speed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winry's jaw dropped as she peered through the hole created by the speaker that Al had made. She couldn't believe it; Ed and Annora were **kissing**?!

"Winry, what's going on?" Alphonse asked quietly. The girl moved over to allow the fifteen-year old to see what was going on in the room. When the possessed suit of armor put his eye to the peephole his eyes widened and he almost fell over in surprise.

"Brother… he- he's … he and Annora are…" he stuttered in disbelief. Winry nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, I know. I already saw," she muttered quietly. "It's just that… well; I never really imagined the two of them together. Heck, I didn't even think that they **liked **each other that much."

Al looked over at the automail mechanic, who had a look of thoughtful disbelief on her face. He flinched when an evil grin crept across the girl's face.

"Winry?"

"So **that's **what's been going on," she whispered, tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder how far it's gone."

"Uhhh…"

"Hey, you said they've both been acting funny since yesterday morning. Did anything happen the night before?"

A multitude of sweatdrops appeared on Al's helmet as he looked at Winry. "No, at least not what **you're **thinking. There was a party at Central headquarters the other night, and Brother ended up getting drunk and I had to carry him home while trying to keep Annora from walking into a wall. That's it."

Winry gave a disappointed frown as she drummed her fingers along her arm thoughtfully.

"Are you sure?" she prodded. Al nodded, realizing where the girl's mind was going to next.

"Yes, I'm positive. Brother was out cold by the time we got home, and he didn't wake up until morning. Besides, I would have noticed if he had gotten up in the middle of the night because we share a room."

"Oh."

(AN: Looks like Winry needs to get her mind out of the gutter.)

Alphonse just sighed and shook his head as he redirected his attention to the speaker in the door. He was just as curious as Winry was as to what was going on.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the two teens ran out of breath, their lips separated and they looked at each other.

"Now what part of that was 'kinda dumb'?" Ed asked mischievously, a knowing glint in his eyes. Annora turned an interesting shade of red in response, blushing furiously while she fidgeted in her seat.

"Umm…" she muttered softly before Ed gently put a finger to her lips.

"Don't say anything if you're just going to embarrass yourself," he whispered jokingly. Annora made a face and shoved him away teasingly.

"Oh you're one to talk," she shot back. Ed merely rolled his eyes upwards and shook his head.

"Yeah, well I hope that you don't keep your emotions locked away like you have been. I didn't know you felt that way about me."

Annora looked over at the teenager and gave a small grin. "Neither did I, but look what it took for us to admit it. Wouldn't this qualify as two friends, bonded by trauma?"

"Yeah, the trauma of switching places," Ed muttered. Annora's eyes widened as she heard a gasp of astonishment come from the other end of the room, over where the door was located, before they narrowed dangerously.

"Annora?"

The teenager held her finger up to her lips, signaling Ed to be quiet, as she stood up and walked over to the door quietly. Before anyone could react, Annora yanked the door open forcefully, only to have both Winry and Alphonse both fall into the room.

Al looked up to see a thunderous look cloud Annora's face as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the two teens. The possessed suit of armor let out a nervous gulp as he looked up at his 'Brother'. He was in so much trouble.

Ed just stared in astonishment at Winry and Al, his expression one of anger and disbelief. Annora, on the other hand, looked like she was about to commit mass murder.

"You know, when someone is holding a conversation in another room with the door closed, that usually indicates that the people inside don't want anyone else listening in on their talk," Annora stated in a tone that Alphonse immediately recognized as deadly calm.

"Don't you mean kissing?" Winry asked with a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes. Annora's eyes narrowed dangerously as she knelt down so that she and the automail mechanic were face to face.

"Do you honestly believe that was all that we were doing?" she asked softly with a hint of steel hidden in her voice. The teenager then directed her gaze towards Al, who shuddered visibly from the intensity of her gaze.

"Brother, we're sorry," he stuttered out, only to be interrupted by Ed.

"IF YOU'RE SO SORRY, THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" the teenage alchemist roared out, a furious blush on his face as he sprang up from his seat. Annora looked over at him and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Ed, **knock it off**," she gritted out in annoyance at the teenager's immaturity before she realized what she had just said. Winry and Al both looked at the two in shock before the full meaning of what Annora had said hit them.

"**WHAT?!**" they both yelped simultaneously, while Annora's eyes widened to about the size of dinner plates.

"Oh crap."

"Oh crap?! You just blew our secret, and all you can say is 'oh crap'?!" Ed shrieked as he grabbed the front of Annora's shirt and pulled her face close to his.

"I didn't mean to, idiot! It just slipped out!"

"Oh you're one to talk!"

"Yeah, I am, shrimp!"

"Who're you calling a shrimp so tiny that you can't even see him with the highest powered microscope with its highest magnifying lens!?!"

"I didn't say that you moron!"

"Oh, well you're a tiny runt, so there!"

Annora stared at Edward like he had just grown a second head, multiple sweatdrops running down the back of her head. Winry and Al just looked back and forth at the two teens in complete and utter confusion.

"You do realize that you just called yourself short, right?" Annora asked in a deadpan tone. Horror flitted across Ed's features as he mentally went over the conversation before he realized what he had just said.

"Nooooo!" he cried out, slapping the palm of his hand against his forehead while Annora just smirked and shook her head.

"You're a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity," she cracked, only to have the human bomb that is Edward Elric blow up in her face.

"Don't call me small! Or shorty! Or runt!" he raged with several veins popping out on his forehead. Annora merely raised an eyebrow in response before she pushed him away.

"You brought this on yourself," she pointed out in a matter of fact tone. Ed just glowered at her in response.

"Did not."

Alphonse's gaze darted back and forth between Edward and Annora uneasily as he tried to put together what had just taken place. It was unnerving to see 'Annora' blow up because she had been called small, while 'Edward' stood there calmly, watching the whole thing with an amused smirk creeping across his lips. The fact that 'Annora' was so upset over 'Ed' blowing 'their secret' also indicated that something was up.

Suddenly, realization hit the fifteen-year old like a ton of bricks, but he really didn't want to say it. The very thought was practically impossible, so Al decided to go with another, saner, idea.

"Brother, did you get Annora pregnant?"

Both teens turned around to look at him, their eyes approximately the size of dinner plates as the gazed at him in stunned horror.

"**WHAT?!**" Annora and Ed both shrieked simultaneously, the former's voice rising several octaves in the process. Al stepped back nervously as Annora lunged at him and grabbed the leather strap securing his breastplate before she forcefully dragged him down to her eye level.

"What in the seven corners of hell would even **possess** you to say something like that?!" she screeched, golden eyes practically blazing with a furious light. "There is no freakin' way that I would let that little-"

Ed managed to clap a hand over Annora's mouth at that point before she could say anything else. Unfortunately for them, the damage was already done.

"What was that you almost said, Ed?" Winry asked as she cast a jaundiced eye on the two teens. "Well?"

Annora's eyes widened as the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she began to sweat nervously. "Umm… I plead the fifth?"

"That's not an answer," Winry stated in a deadpan tone as a wrench somehow appeared in her right hand. Annora stared at the tool for a few moments in horror before she made a last ditch attempt to go out the window to escape the dreaded instrument, with Ed not far behind her.

Winry threw the wrench expertly, creaming Annora right in the back of the head while Al grabbed Ed and pinned his arms to his sides. The automail mechanic grabbed Annora's collar and dragged her up to face level.

"Okay Ed, you two are going to tell us what's going on, and you're going to tell us right now."

Annora looked over at Ed, who surprisingly let out a sigh of resignation.

"Fine," he muttered. "We should have figured out that you or Al would have found out sooner or later."

"And what would that have been, hmm? Did you and Ed have sex or something, Annora?"

Annora looked at Winry like she had gone insane.

"Are you out of your mind?! We're only sixteen!"

Winry just rolled her eyes in response.

"It's not **that **uncommon. I have a friend my age that just got married six months ago."

"Oh."

Ed shifted uncomfortably in Al's arms. All this talk of… well, you know… was making him extremely uneasy. Winry didn't notice this as she brandished her wrench at Annora.

"Tell us what's been going on, now!"

Annora let out a strangled 'eep' and her golden eyes widened as the metal instrument came dangerously close to hitting her in the face. Ed decided to intervene before Annora got hurt, even if it meant sacrificing his dignity.

"Annora and I switched bodies!" he blurted out. Al and Winry immediately froze before looking at him strangely.

"What?"

"Umm… we switched bodies somehow, the other night," Annora muttered as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. Winry stared at her before she burst out laughing.

"That's a good one Ed! Seriously, though, what's going on?"

Annora's eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked at the girl.

"Winry, we're dead serious right now. Do you honestly think that Ed and I would **joke **about something like this?"

The automail mechanic glanced over at Ed, who was scowling, and then back over at Annora before she crossed her arms over her chest and looked Annora dead in the eye.

"Fine, but where's your proof?" she demanded. Ed grinned as an evil thought entered his mind.

"What kind of proof?" he asked.

"Something that only the real Edward Elric would know."

Annora glanced over at her friend, and mentally cringed when she caught sight of the satanic gleam in Ed's eyes. Somehow, she had a **bad **feeling about this.

"Okay, how's this then?" Edward began, a slight smirk playing across his lips. "When you were eight, you kicked a kid at school in the balls because he called you ugly and wouldn't let you play tag with the rest of the boys. And when we went to Rush Valley, you bribed Paniya to pick my pocket because you thought I was getting a swelled head," he paused and looked over at Winry, who was staring at him with her jaw almost hitting the floor. "Is there anything else you want me to say?"

"It-it's not… it's not… possible, is it?" she asked faintly, her blue eyes practically bulging from her face. Annora gave a harsh laugh at this comment.

"That's what **we **thought too. Life's funny sometimes, huh?"

Ed just rolled his eyes upwards in response before he looked up at Al.

"Hey Al, could you put me down now?"

Alphonse immediately did as his 'brother' had requested. The possessed suit of armor stared at Ed with his unblinking red eyes wide.

"How?" he asked simply. Ed responded with a frown and a shrug.

"We're not positive, but we think it had something to do with the party the other night."

"Party?" Winry asked as she raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What party?"

"There was a party at Central H.Q. the other night," Annora explained as she shoved her hands into the pockets of the pants she was wearing. "In a short, accurate description of it, there was a lot of alcohol, drunk soldiers doing stupid stuff, and other various incidents of extreme insanity. Oh, and did I mention that Colonel Mustang spiked my and Ed's drinks with something that gave me one hell of a headache?"

"Oh! You mentioned that on the train!" Al pointed out eagerly.

"Yeah, and we both think that it had something to do with the reason why we switched bodies," Ed remarked bitterly as he scowled darkly. "When we get back to Central, the first thing I'm gonna do is punch that bastard Colonel's face in."

Annora and Winry just looked at him like he was insane.

"Ed, I think you need to chill out," Annora muttered. "If I didn't know you, I would say that you have anger issues."

The teenage alchemist turned an interesting shade of red before he exploded.

"Who says I need anger management?!"

"The entire planet."

"**WHAT?!**"

Alphonse started to snicker, only to lose control and burst out laughing hysterically. Ed, Winry, and Annora all turned around and looked at him strangely.

"What in the…?" Annora began hesitantly, her eyes wide. She had never heard Al laugh like this, and it was kind of freaking her out. One look over at Winry and Ed showed that they were also sufficiently freaked out. It was only when he had stopped laughing that the possessed suit of armor revealed the reason behind his mirth.

"You-you still …act the same, even after all this…" Al managed to gasp out as he looked down at Ed. If he had possessed a body, he would have grinned. "So… do I call you 'Sister' now?"

"**AL!!!**"

Annora and Winry both fell over laughing hysterically while Ed attempted to strangle his brother, which wasn't working out too well seeing as not only could he not catch Al, but you can't exactly strangle a suit of armor either.

"Damn it Al! Hold still!"

"Why should I, Sister?"

"**DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!**"

"But that's what you are!"

"I am **not **a fucking girl! Now hold still so I can kill you!"

"Yes you are, Ed. And, no, I'm not going to stop!"

By this point in the conversation, Annora was sitting on the floor with tears streaming from her eyes, holding her ribs while she roared with laughter. Winry wasn't much better off, although she had managed to collapse on the bed while she lay gasping for breath while holding her ribs. Annora reached up and wiped away a tear with her automail hand just as Pinako came into the room. The elderly woman stared in astonishment at the sight that lay before her: 'Annora' had her arm wrapped around the spot on Al's armor where his neck would have been in an obvious chokehold while the boy attempted to dislodge her, while Winry and 'Ed' lay on the floor holding their ribs while they laughed uproariously. The mayhem in the room immediately ground to a halt as the four teenagers became aware of the woman's presence. To their surprise, a soft smile made its way across Pinako's mouth before she spoke.

"It's alright, don't mind me. I just wanted to make sure that you four aren't killing each other up here."

Then, as quickly as she had come, Pinako Rockbell turned around and closed the door behind her. Annora blinked several times in surprise as she stared at the door incredulously.

"Well, that was unexpected," she muttered. Ed, Al, and Winry all nodded in agreement before the two brothers returned to their squabble. Needless to say, it ended up being taken outside due to the increased amount of violence that Ed continuously attempted. As a result, the four teens didn't get to bed until well after dark.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**On the train the next day**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annora twitched violently in her seat, her fist clenching and unclenching several times in rapid succession as Ed let out another rumbling snore. As it was, the trio was already getting enough stares just from their appearance. Al watched her nervously as a murderous gleam entered the teenager's eyes.

"If he keeps snoring, I **swear** that I will **kill** him," Annora hissed as she glared at Ed's prone form stretched out on the seat across from her.

"But-"

"He's the one that was complaining about us sleeping in, and now he's **out cold** on the seat of a train! Is hypocrite his middle name, or is it just that he likes being such a-"

"Annora."

"What, Al?"

"People are staring at us."

The teenager flushed an interesting shade of red and sweatdropped, before she sunk down low in her seat in an attempt to hide from the confused stares that people were giving her and Al.

"Bugger."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**In Central the next day**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Two day train trips **suck**," Ed grumbled as the exhausted teens (except for Al) walked into the apartment that they all shared and collapsed on the couch. Annora looked over at him and glared before she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"This is coming from the same person that slept through almost the entire trip," she remarked pointedly. Ed made a face at this comment before he gave the girl 'the bird'. Annora rolled her eyes as she returned the gesture. Al just looked back and forth between the two before he let out a sigh.

"You two are impossible," he muttered. Annora cracked open an eye and grinned at the boy teasingly.

"And you expect us to be any different why?"

"I'm not even going to go there."

"Good idea."

Just as Ed and Annora had almost fallen asleep on the couch, the phone rang. Annora looked over at the object and scowled.

"If it's a telemarketer, they're going to regret calling here," she muttered acidly as she got up and went over to the phone. Al looked over at her in confusion.

"Telemarketer?"

"Some dumbass that gets paid to annoy people over the phone," she grumbled. "They're actually a good source of entertainment if you're at home over the summer and have nothing to do. Especially if you tell them that they can talk to your dog because they want to talk to someone older than you."

"Did you do that?"

"No, my brother did though. I was just out in the living room listening to the conversation and laughing my ass off."

Annora looked at the phone before she rolled her eyes and took the receiver off the cradle and put it to her ear.

"Hello, Edward Elric speaking," she stated in a 'hurry up and tell me what the hell you want' tone.

"Well Fullmetal, is that any way to speak to your commanding officer?" a very familiar voice said in a know-it-all manner. Annora let out a heartfelt groan and almost banged her head against the wall. She really didn't need this.

"Hello, Colonel, what do you want?"

Mustang made a rude noise in the back of his throat on the other end of the line.

"I want to know where you've been for the past four days," he demanded. "You three left before I could find out where you were going."

"I had to go get my automail repaired," the teenager responded testily. "And my mechanic lives all the way over in Resembool, which is a two-day train trip. So I think you can figure out that Annora and I are both exhausted, because we just got back. I know that she's already out cold on the couch over here."

Annora glanced over at Ed, who was indeed snoring heavily while lying on the couch. Mustang's response drew her attention back to the phone.

"Well, as tired as you must be, Fullmetal, I believe that you and your brother can manage to drag yourselves over here to receive a copy of your next assignment. I expect you two to be over here in fifteen minutes," the Flame Alchemist ordered before he hung up. Annora stared at the phone that she held in her hand and swore.

"What's wrong?" Al asked curiously. When he caught Annora muttering the words 'Colonel Bastard' and 'wish he'd go roast in hell', Alphonse knew immediately who the sixteen-year old had been talking to.

"Colonel Mustang wants you and Ed to go the Central H.Q. and get your next assignment," Annora pointed out in a resigned manner. "Somehow, I think the fact that I currently look like Ed and he looks like me might happen to be a problem, but only a little one."

Al laughed at Annora's sarcastic manner as she spread her thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart to signal how small of a problem.

"If we leave Brother here, I think it'll work out okay," he suggested. "We won't have to worry about him getting mad at being called small and blowing your cover."

Annora looked over at Ed's slumbering form and grinned. "Besides, if he's actually had a good night's sleep, he might not be so grumpy for once."

The two conspirators looked at each other and nodded before they left the house, with Annora locking the door securely behind them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annora let a stream of extremely foul obscenities emerge from her mouth as soon as she had shut the door to Colonel Mustang's office behind her. The Colonel had done nothing but insult her, and it had taken every shred of control that Annora had possessed to keep from loosing her temper and throttling the man. Al had noticed her internal turmoil, and had wisely kept a hand on her shoulder the entire time they had been in the Flame Alchemist's office. It was only when they were safely out of hearing range that he asked quietly.

"Are you alright?"

Annora turned around slightly and made a face.

"Nothing that a good swift kick to the Colonel's pants wouldn't cure."

Al laughed nervously at her response.

"Just don't let him hear you say that," he pointed out. Annora nodded sagely before she let out an aggravated sigh.

"Hey, Al," she began, looking up at the younger boy's face. "Do you think you could get the Colonel out of his office a few minutes?"

Al's eyes widened in shock. "What do you want me to do that for?!"

A knowing grin made its way across her face as she looked up at the possessed suit of armor, an impish light dancing in her golden eyes.

"I'll tell you once I get what I'm looking for, that way you don't get in trouble if I get caught."

Several sweatdrops appeared on the back of Al's helmet as he stared at Annora in disbelief.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"As serious as a heart attack," she responded flatly. Al sighed as he turned around and went back in the direction of Mustang's office.

"We're going to be in so much trouble if we get caught," he muttered as he headed down the passageway. Annora looked over at him and allowed the corner of her mouth to twitch up in amusement. She had an idea for a diversion, and it didn't involve Al getting in trouble.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Colonel Mustang, there's a problem down the hall!" Havoc yelled as he threw open the heavy wooden doors to Mustang's office. The black-haired man looked up from some paperwork that he had been in the process of reviewing and his dark eyes narrowed.

"What kind of problem, Havoc?" he asked in a 'hurry up' tone. Second Lieutenant Havoc gulped nervously as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

"The men's toilets down the hall are having some… problems," he pointed out nervously. Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerously as he set down the stack of papers that he had been going over.

"Problems?" he asked in a neutral tone of voice. "What kind of 'problems'?"

"Umm… one of the pipes burst, and now they're flooding the hallway. The bathroom's already completely swamped."

Mustang's eyes widened before he swore and shot up out of his seat.

"Damn it! The bathroom's right next to the record room!"

Havoc almost spat out his trademark cigarette in surprise at this fact. Without exchanging further conversation, the two men dashed out of the room to stop the water before it destroyed anything of value.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annora covered her mouth to muffle her own curses as she crouched beneath the open window to Mustang's office. If she had known that the records room was next to the men's room, she wouldn't have used alchemy to rust through the pipe to one of the toilets. The teenager silently berated herself for her stupidity as she stood up and peeked into the room silently. Mustang wasn't there, and he had left his jacket hanging on the back of his chair. Annora swiftly clambered over the sill and into the room, taking extreme care not to make any loud noises.

'_Please let Mustang be one of those people that leave junk in their pockets until they remember it or clean out their pockets,'_ Annora prayed silently as she walked over to the chair at sat behind Mustang's desk.

The teenager made a quick search through the pockets to Mustang's jacket, and rejoiced silently when her hand closed around a small glass vial. She pulled it out and inspected it closely; it was the same one that Mustang had shown her and Edward four days earlier, the one that contained the liquid that had caused her and Ed to switch bodies.

A sound just outside the office door startled her, causing the sixteen-year old to jump to her feet. Without a moment's hesitation, Annora threw herself bodily through the open window just seconds before Mustang, Havoc, Hawkeye, and Hughes walked through the door.

Annora immediately pressed herself up against the brickwork wall of the building, holding the vial close to her chest as she sought to steady her breathing. That had been close, too close. If she had been so much as a millisecond later, she would have been caught red-handed, and the explanation for her actions would have been extremely hard to believe.

The teen looked around her for anyone that may have been watching the bushes that concealed her from view before she tucked the vial securely into a deep pocket on the red trench coat that she wore and stood up, hastily exiting the bushes before someone spotted her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Annora had rounded a corner, someone reached out and covered her mouth before dragging her into the dark recess that concealed them. A panicked scream rose up in the teenager's throat as she fought against her captor wildly, only to be blocked by the hand that covered her mouth.

"Shhh! Annora, it's me!" a familiar voice whispered urgently in her ear. The teen relaxed immediately; the person that had grabbed her was Alphonse. Al let go of her once she has stopped struggling and looked at her steadily.

"What did you do?" he demanded. "It sounds like you set off a bomb or something."

Annora dusted herself off and looked up at his unblinking red eyes.

"I didn't set off a bomb Al," she pointed out patiently. "All I did was use a little alchemy to help a pipe in the men's bathroom rust."

"You didn't!"

"Actually, I did. And I didn't find out until **after** the fact that the records room is next door." Annora made a face at this memory.

"WHAT?!"

Annora flinched at the high pitch that Alphonse's voice suddenly went up to. The fifteen-year old was staring at her like she had lost her mind.

"Are you insane?!" he yelped. "You're going to get in a **huge** amount of trouble if the Colonel or someone else finds out!"

Annora flashed Al a sheepish grin before she started down the street towards the townhouse that the three teens shared.

"Well, there is some good news," she pointed out. If Al had possessed a body at that point, he would have gone red in the face as he broke into a jog to catch up with her.

"Good news?! What kind of good news could you **possibly **have right now?!"

"I found what I was looking for."

"And what might that happen to be?"

"Something that will make me and Ed switch back."

"Oh."

It was a struggle for Annora to stay calm as she and Al walked back to their home. A massive bubble of happiness was welling up in her throat, and it would take more than worrying about the stunt she had pulled back at H.Q. to burst it. Without meaning to, she started humming a slightly upbeat tune. Al looked over at her in surprise.

"You're really happy about this, aren't you?" he asked. Annora stopped humming and nodded, flashing the younger Elric a smile as they neared their home.

"Yeah, I am," she admitted. "These past few days have been really stressful, so it's kind of comforting to think that there's an end to this whole mess."

Annora reached out to grab the doorknob to the townhouse, only to have the door swing inward with just a tap from her. Golden eyes widened in surprise as the sixteen-year old stared at the door in disbelief. She had locked it on the way out, she was positive of it. Al looked at her curiously as Annora's body tensed up visibly.

"What's wro-"

"Someone's in the house," Annora whispered as she opened the door carefully. "Be quiet, we don't want them to hurt someone."

When the two teens entered the room, they were greeted with complete and utter chaos. The couch had been overturned, and there were spots where the stuffing spilled out. There were also large amounts of blood splattered all over the walls and floor. It was obvious that there had been a struggle here, but with who? Annora felt the blood drain from her face as she looked around her wildly. Where was Ed?

A scrap of paper on the kitchen table caught her attention just as Al began to frantically call for Ed. Annora walked over and picked it up with a gloved hand. When she saw the message inscribed upon it, the blood left her face once again and a roaring sound became present in her ears.

**Dear Fullmetal Runt,** the note began, scrawled in a barely legible hand. A cold feeling of dread came over Annora as she stared at the writing. There was only one person that called Edward that, and if they were writing to him, it couldn't be anything good. Annora fought down the homicidal urge that was beginning to build up within her and continued to read.

**We have your little girlfriend here with us, but it took a lot to knock her out. Come to where Lab 5 was and we'll make a trade; information on the Stone for her life. If you don't show up, well… Gluttony's always hungry, or we could always use her as material for the Stone. Anyways, it's all up to you.**

'_Envy…'_ Annora thought venomously as she crushed the scrap of paper in her hand. The teen's eyes narrowed dangerously as she slammed the note down on the table. That arrogant bastard was going to pay for this, with his life.

"Hey Al!" she shouted over her shoulder. "I found out where 'Annora' is. I'm heading over to where Lab 5 used to be. I want you find Colonel Mustang and have him round up as many people as he can that he trusts to help."

Alphonse poked his head around the corner and stared at her.

"What's wrong? You seem upset."

"The Homunculi have kidnapped Annora," Annora stated as she looked over at the possessed suit of armor. Al's eyes widened in shock as he stared at her.

"Brother, did you and Annora swi-"

Annora cut him off immediately.

"No."

The teenager turned around and headed for the door, her golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you going to do?" Al asked nervously. Annora looked back at him, and the boy shivered at the murderous glare that danced in her eyes.

"I'm going to go kick some Homunculi ass."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Wanna love ya  
Wanna bug ya  
Wanna squeeze ya  
Stupid girl _

A scowl made its way across Annora's face as she went through a damp, dank tunnel that ran underneath the remains of Lab 5. She had absolutely no idea as to what she was going to do once she found Ed, except the fact that she was going to get him the hell out of there as fast as she could. The sixteen-year old made a face as her left foot crushed the skeleton of something long dead lying on the tunnel floor. She wasn't one of those girls that freaked out over little things like bugs and stuff, but this place was giving her the creeps.

As she rounded the corner, a dim light at the end of the passageway caught Annora's eye. The teenager quickened her pace, breaking into a run as panic began to well up in her throat; she prayed silently that her friend was okay, not knowing what she'd do if he wasn't. The moment she burst into the room, her heart stopped in her chest. In the middle of the room lay a prone form, one that Annora knew far too well, seeing as she looked at it every day in the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, Annora caught sight of some faint movement. She ignored it as she rushed over to Ed's unmoving form.

_Wanna touch ya,   
Wanna take ya,  
Wanna shut ya,  
Stupid girl.  
_

"Are you okay?!" she cried out as she knelt down by Ed. The teen opened his eyes and looked up at her blearily.

"Edward, you're here?" he muttered softly. Annora's eyes widened marginally before she stood up and backed away, her golden eyes hard.

"Nice try, Envy," she growled, clenching her right fist tightly. "But I'm not that stupid."

Envy's eyes snapped open and he stared at her in disbelief before he let out a mocking laugh and shed the shape he had used to trick her.

"Well, well, well, looks like the Fullmetal Pipsqueak is smarter than he looks," the homunculus taunted as he stood in front of Annora with a knowing smirk on his face. The teen glowered at him, her expression one of pure murder as she fought the urge to punch Envy's smug face in.

"Where is she, you sick son of a bitch," Annora growled, fury dancing in her eyes. "Where is she?!"

_I can't take this,   
Born to break this._

Envy looked at her in confusion before he smirked knowingly at the teen.

"Aww, what's wrong?" he cooed mockingly, his violet eyes glinting with untold malevolence. "Does the little runt miss his girlfriend?"

Annora's immediate response was a punch to the homunculi's face. The force of the blow sent Envy skidding backwards on his ass until he smacked painfully into one of the crumbling walls that lined the chamber. Annora waited until Envy was looking at her before she transmuted part of her automail into a blade and took a meaningful step forward.

"Cut the crap, Envy," she spat angrily, golden eyes narrowed dangerously as she took another step towards the homunculus. "Tell me where Annora is **now** or so help me, I will kick your ass so hard that you'll have to use your mouth to take a shit!"

_She's going away,   
__**(She's going away)**__  
What's wrong with my life today?  
She's going away,  
__**(She's going away)**__   
What's wrong with my life today?  
Stupid girl, Stupid girl _

The homunculi's eyes got about the size of dinner plates as he stared at her in astonishment.

"You're serious!" he exclaimed. Annora's eyes only narrowed in response.

"If you want to see what a dead man looks like, asshole, I would suggest that you take a look in the mirror before I beat you to a pulp."

"Now, now, is all this violence really necessary?" a female voice asked coolly. Annora whirled around to see Lust and Gluttony standing near the entrance at the opposite end of the room, the former with a familiar limp form slung over her shoulder. Annora's eyes widened as she stared at her body. Ed looked like he had been in a fight with a herd of rampaging elephants and lost, badly. Even from where she stood, Annora could see the cuts and bruises that covered Ed's entire body. It took every ounce of self-control that the teenager possessed to keep from crying out the Fullmetal Alchemist's name as she stared at his battered and bruised body.

_I'm a loner,  
I'm a loser,  
I'm a winner,  
In my mind. _

"Well, that shut you up pretty quick," Envy quipped, only to have Annora take a swipe at him with her blade-arm. Lust let out a throaty laugh at this sight.

"How interesting. Take away his little girl friend, and the famed Fullmetal Alchemist becomes nothing more than a little boy with a metal arm," the woman pointed out mockingly. Annora glared at the female homunculus as she decided to do what Ed would have done in her place.

"Don't call me small!" she shouted, fire dancing in her golden eyes. "And put her down right now!"

Envy, who by this point had managed to get to his feet and scuttle over to where Lust and Gluttony were, started to laugh. Lust merely glanced over in his direction and frowned disapprovingly.

"You're pathetic, Envy."

"What?!" the homunculus yelped, while Annora seized her chance to discretely clap her hands together.

"Hey assholes!" she shouted, immediately catching the attention of all three of the homunculi. "Why don't you try this on for size?!"

_I'm a bad one,  
I'm a good one,  
I'm a sick one,  
With a smile. _

With that parting comment, the sixteen-year old slammed both hands palm down on the floor in a flurry of electric blue sparks. A slab of solid rock shot out and hit Lust directly in the stomach, causing her to drop Ed, who was still out cold. Annora then erected a series of walls around the alchemist's prone form to protect him from any further attacks. Triumph shone in her eyes as she stood up with her automail fist clenched.

"What was that comment about me being a little boy, you stupid hag?" Annora asked acidly, fury shining in her eyes. "Looks to me like you three just lost your bargaining chip."

"Why you little-" Envy began, his violet eyes narrowing.

"What? Pipsqueak? Runt? Half-pint midget bean sprout?" Annora asked with both eyebrows raised, her tone sarcastic. "This is coming from a gay palm tree that wears girls' clothes for a living while taking on other people's appearances just because he's too ashamed to show his face in public?"

A low growl made its way from Envy's throat as he glared at Annora venomously.

"You're going to die," he spat. Annora cocked an eyebrow at this.

"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing."

That tore it. Envy lunged at Annora like a charging bull with an inhuman screech, murder shining in his eyes. The teenager was forced to doge the homunculi's attack, barely avoiding getting hammered by one very p.o.ed palm tree. Annora seized her opportunity and drove her knee up into Envy's groin, hard. The homunculus let out a pained gasp and his eyes bugged out as he slumped down to the ground.

_I can't take this,   
Born to break this.  
_

"Bastard…" he gasped out. Annora regarded him coldly before she kicked the man solidly in the gut.

"It takes one to know one."

By this point, Lust and Gluttony had vanished down the tunnel, leaving Ed behind. Annora let out a sigh of relief when she pulled down one of the walls that she had constructed around Ed to find him unharmed, at least any more than he already was. The teenager pressed her fore and middle fingers of her left hand against Ed's throat, and let out the breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding when she found a weak pulse.

_She's going away,   
__**(She's going away)  
**__What's wrong with my life today? _

_She's going away,   
__**(She's going away)  
**__What's wrong with my life today?_

_**(What's wrong with my life today?)  
**__She's going away,  
__**(She's going away)  
**__What's wrong with my life today?  
Stupid girl, Stupid girl _

A noise behind her alerted Annora to the fact that Envy had finally gotten to his feet. Without turning around, the teenager clapped her hands together and slammed them down on the ground in front of her. The homunculus had no time to react when a stone spike shot up from the floor and ran through his abdomen. But it didn't stop there: the stone tip of the spike fused with the wall of the chamber, effectively trapping Envy, who let out a surprised gurgle as he coughed up blood.

"Try getting out of that, you bastard," Annora spat venomously as she picked up Ed and set off towards the exit. Envy was only able to give a muffled curse as he was forced to watch his most hated enemy walk away. Halfway across the room, Annora turned around slightly to look at him, her eyes shining with a furious light.

"Stay there, and when I get back, I'll treat you to a living hell," she promised, the tone of her voice indicating that Envy had a snowball's chance in hell of surviving the encounter. The homunculus made a rude gesture at the teen as she turned her back to him and walked out, not once looking back. Once she had exited the tunnel and gone into the main passageway, the sound of pounding footsteps reached Annora's ears. The teen shifted into a fighting pose, ready to defend herself and Edward, when a familiar voice shouted out.

_Stupid girl, Stupid girl_

"Brother! Annora!"

Annora immediately relaxed as Alphonse came running up to her, accompanied by Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong, Hughes, Breda, Fuery, and Havoc. Surprisingly, Mustang was the first one to notice the limp form that she held in her arms. His dark eyes widened in astonishment as he took in the serious injuries that covered Ed.

"Fullmetal, what happened to you two?" he asked quietly. Annora looked down at the floor and let out a sigh of defeat.

"She's alive, but barely," she stated, her own voice sounding hollow to her ears. "She needs medical treatment badly. Those bastards beat her to the point of unconsciousness."

"Brother…" Al began, only to have Annora look up at him and shake her head slowly. The teenager bit her lip to keep from letting her emotions get the better of her as she offered Ed's unmoving form to the younger boy.

"Hey Al… could you take her to the hospital for me? I have something that I still need to do here."

Alphonse nodded silently as he accepted the battered body that his older brother's consciousness currently resided in. Annora then directed her attention over to Mustang, who was staring at her intently with an unreadable expression.

"Colonel, would you please come with me? I need your help with something back in the main area."

The Flame Alchemist cocked an eyebrow in surprise as he looked over at Annora.

"You're actually **asking** for my help, Fullmetal?" he asked skeptically. Annora nodded silently as she turned around and headed back towards the main chamber where she had left Envy pinned to the wall.

"If you don't want to come, that's fine by me," she stated in an almost dead tone. "I was just thinking that you might help me kill the S.O.B. that hurt Annora."

Something unrecognizable flashed in Mustang's eyes as he lengthened his strides until he had caught up with Annora. The man opened his mouth to say something just as Annora broke into a trot.

"Do you want to explain why you're running, Fullmetal?"

"I don't want Envy to escape," Annora responded flatly as she glanced over at Mustang, who was keeping pace with her easily.

"Any preferences as to how you want the homunculus to die?"

"I'd settle for the bastard being incinerated until he's nothing more than an unidentifiable pile of ash."

All of a sudden, an inhuman scream broke through the relative silence of the tunnels. Annora's eyes widened as she broke into a dead run, skidding slightly as she rounded the corner that lead into the main area where she had left Envy. The sight that met her eyes as she burst into the room caused her to swear foully and drive her right fist into the wall angrily.

"Damn it!!"

The stone spike that had pinned Envy to the wall was covered in blood, but the homunculus was missing. An obvious trail of blood lead to the exit that Lust and Gluttony had used, indicating the direction that Envy had gone. Mustang made a face as he took in the sight before him; he knew enough about homunculi to realize what Envy had done to free himself. Annora fought the urge to cry, knowing that it would do nothing to help Edward.

A hopeless feeling came over the teenager as she stood up and left the chamber, with Mustang not far behind her. She had failed her friend.

_She's going away,   
__**(She's going away)**__  
What's wrong with my life today?_

_She's going away,   
__**(She's going away)**__  
What's wrong with my life today? _

_**(What's wrong with my life today?)**__  
She's going away,  
__**(She's going away)**__  
What's wrong with my life today?  
Stupid girl, Stupid girl  
Stupid girl, stupid girl_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"All of the injuries that your friend has sustained are serious, but fortunately for her, she was given medical treatment immediately, so she has a chance to survive."

Annora looked at the doctor and nodded. When she had gotten back to Central headquarters, Hawkeye had directed her to the hospital where Ed was. Once she had gotten there, she had gone out of her way to find the doctor that was in charge of the alchemist and demanded to know what kind of shape her friend was in. Hence the current conversation.

"Can I go in and see her?"

The doctor looked at Annora and scrutinized her closely before he nodded.

"Go ahead. But I have to warn you, she's still unconscious right now."

"Thanks."

Golden eyes widened as Annora grasped the doorknob to Ed's room firmly before she gulped nervously and opened the door. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to see Alphonse sitting in a chair next to Ed's bed, worry etched into his very being. Annora didn't say anything as she walked over to Al and moved a stool next to him before she sat down.

Silence reigned before Annora looked over at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. Al glanced at her and made a noise of acknowledgement before he refocused his attention on Ed.

"It's not your fault, Annora. Brother always ends up in trouble…" the possessed suit of armor began before he trailed off.

"But not like this," Annora finished, the corners of her eyes stinging as she fought back tears. "This is all my fault. If I had only woken him up when we went to H.Q. or gotten home sooner… he wouldn't be like this."

Alphonse cast the sixteen-year old a pitying glance before he stood up and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Annora let out an exhausted sigh as she slumped down in her seat and buried her head in her hands. Why did she always manage to get her friends into trouble like this?

The teenager stuck her right hand into her pocket while she massaged the bridge of her nose with her left one. Her eyes snapped open when her fingers hit the glass surface of the vial she had stuck in her pocket earlier. Slowly, Annora pulled out the small glass bottle and stared at it before an idea came to her.

'_Oh please,__** please**__ let this work,'_ she prayed silently as she stood up and poured two glasses of water from a pitcher and cups that a nurse had thoughtfully left on a tray on the small bedside table in the room. With a trembling hand, Annora silently poured equal amounts of the contents of the glass vial into each glass before re-inserting the stopper and placing it back into the pocket of her red trench coat.

"Well, here goes nothing," she muttered as she placed the cup next to Ed's lips and gently poured the spiked water into his mouth. Surprisingly, he swallowed it. Annora looked at her friend before she swallowed nervously, small beads of sweat running down the side of her face as she eyeballed her own cup nervously. Finally, she let out an aggravated sigh and made a face.

"Aw, to hell with it!" she muttered rebelliously before she slammed down her water in one gulp. She immediately made a face and fought the urge to cough as she set her cup down on the table.

"Ugh! This tastes horrible!"

The effect was almost immediate. Within five minutes of her drinking the stuff, the room began to spin, and Annora's vision blurred slightly.

"Oh boy," she muttered sarcastically before she lay her head down with her arms folded underneath to serve as a pillow on the side of Ed's bed before she allowed sleep to claim her.

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Ed sat up and blinked drowsily as the morning sunlight shining through the window woke him up. It took a few minutes for the Fullmetal Alchemist to realize that he had fallen asleep in a sitting position on a stool, resulting in a sore back. It was only when he looked behind him that he realized that he was in a hospital room.

"What the hell?" he muttered as he slowly massaged the bridge of his nose with his left hand. Why was he in a hospital? Ed's eyes widened in surprise as the memory of what had taken place yesterday hit him. The last thing that he remembered was being abducted by Envy, and getting the crap beaten out of him in the process. But why didn't he feel like he had been in a fight?

The teenager frowned as he looked over towards the bed that his head had been resting on. Golden eyes widened to about the size of dinner plates when Ed caught sight of Annora lying there with her left arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around her forehead, right wrist and forearm, cheek, and neck. The Fullmetal Alchemist stared at his friend for several moments before he realized what the girl had done.

"YOU IDIOT!!!"

Alphonse poked his head in when he heard the angry shout.

"Umm… what's going on?" he asked timidly, only to have Ed whirl around and glare at him.

"How long did you leave her alone?!" he demanded, jabbing a finger in the direction of Annora's prone form. Al cocked his head in confusion.

"What do you mean? I only left the room for a few minutes…" he trailed off as realization dawned upon him. "Brother?"

Ed scowled in response as his right eye developed a twitch.

"Yes," he responded tersely.

"But that means that Annora…" Al began nervously as he looked over at the girl lying on the bed.

"Yeah, she did," Ed muttered as he directed a piercing glare in Annora's direction before he blew up.

"DAMN IT ANNORA! IF YOU DIE, I SWEAR THAT I WILL DRAG YOUR **ASS OUT OF HELL** AND KILL YOU MYSELF!!!"

A faint sound caught the brothers' attention just as Ed was fighting back the urge to go drag up Envy and beat the crap out of him.

"Stop… yelling… idiot… my head's… killing me…"

Ed and Al whirled around to see Annora looking at them blearily out of half opened eyes.

"Annora! You're awake!" Al shouted cheerfully before he looked back and forth between the two teens. "But how did you and Brother…?"

"Ed, there's a little glass vial in your right-hand pocket," Annora began as she used her good arm to shift into a sitting position. "Do me a **huge** favor and throw it out the window. Please make sure that the damn thing actually breaks when you throw it."

The teenage alchemist looked at her in confusion as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the afore-mentioned vial. He cocked a golden eyebrow in surprise as he examined the vial closely.

"Hey, isn't this the same thing that the Colonel Bastard used?"

"Just pitch the damn thing," Annora said exasperatedly. Ed readily complied, throwing the glass vial out the hospital room window, where it smashed against the side of the building across from it. All three teens heaved a collective sigh of relief as they watched the dry red bricks absorb the liquid rapidly.

"Okay, now I feel much better," Annora muttered as she leaned back against the pillows propped up behind her. Ed cast her a considering glance as he watched the girl wince when she tried to move her left arm.

"You used that stuff that was in the bottle to switch us back, didn't you?" he accused. Annora rolled her eyes in response as she let out an exhausted sigh.

"What do you think?"

Edward scowled darkly in response as he looked at her sternly.

"You're an idiot, do you know that? You could have **died** from switching back!"

Annora looked up at the teenage boy and smiled gently.

"But what good would it have been if you had been the one that died, Ed?" she asked softly, worry evident in her chocolate eyes. "Al wouldn't have been the only one that would have missed you."

Ed looked taken aback for a few moments before he realized what Annora was hinting at. Once he did, a brilliant red blush flamed across his face as he stared at the girl, who also had a slight tinge of pink on her own cheeks. For a few moments, both teenagers forgot that Al was in the room with them. Ed leaned over towards Annora, who looked a little surprised before she allowed him to come near her. Their lips had just met when…

**BAM!**

"Whoa!" a certain chain smoker, aka Havoc, yelped when he caught sight of the two teens. Annora gave a startled cry and jerked backwards while Ed used a word that few sixteen-year olds should know as he fell off the stool that he had been sitting on. Both teens looked over to the open door of the hospital room to see Havoc, Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong, and Hughes standing there with surprised expressions on their faces. Major Armstrong was the first one to break the stunned silence.

"Oh Edward Elric! You have finally managed to overcome the tragedy that haunts you and your brother on a daily basis and find the delicate blossoming flower of young love!" At this point, tears gushed from the man's eyes as he hugged the boy tightly. Annora winced when she heard a few ribs crack from where she was sitting. Ed was **not** going to be happy by the time the Major released him.

"Haven't you ever heard of privacy?!" she snapped, glaring at Mustang, who smirked at her in reply.

"Not when it gives me blackmail material," he responded, holing up a rapidly developing photograph. Annora's right eye developed a twitch as she stared at the Colonel, who grinned roguishly at her, and Hughes, who hastily hid the Polaroid camera that he had used to take the incriminating photo behind his back. Ed managed to wrench himself away from Armstrong and attempted to take the picture away from Mustang, who just held it up out of the blonde's reach. A furious blush flamed across Ed's face as he gave up jumping for the photo and glared at Mustang.

"Damn it, Colonel Bastard! Give it to me!" he growled. The Flame Alchemist adopted a stern expression as he said in a parental tone.

"Now, is that any way to talk to your commanding officer?" he asked in a sarcastic voice. Ed responded with a stream of obscenities as he lunged for Mustang. The Colonel dodged the angry teenager easily as he held up the now-developed photo.

"My, my, my, what a temper," he pointed out in a mock stern manner. "You really do need to learn how to control yourself. Although, your short temper goes along perfectly with your size."

Annora groaned and placed her good hand over her face while Ed screamed out a long string of threats and profanities. This could go on **forever**. Fortunately for her however, a loud buzzing noise came from her backpack, which she had brought with her to the hospital. Everyone stopped dead and looked over at her in surprise as she reached down and pulled out her laptop with her good hand before flipping it open. However, when she caught sight of the username of who was trying to contact her over her web cam, she swore loudly.

"Shit!"

Ed actually stopped fighting with Mustang for a few moments and came over to her side to look at the computer screen.

"What's wrong?"

Annora jabbed a finger angrily at the name **Sepiroth'sworstnightmare** that was on the computer screen, along with the words 'wishes to log on to web cam', which were rapidly replaced with 'logging on'.

"It's Ethan, he's trying to talk to me," she pointed out, her anger quickly replaced by fear. "If he sees me like this in a hospital, he's going to loose it."

Ed immediately realized just how much trouble they were both about to be in.

"Aw crap," he muttered as he stared at the computer screen with the air of a condemned prisoner. It was at about that moment that the image of Ethan sitting in a tent sprang up onto the computer.

"Hey Annora, I just wanted to see how you were-" the man stopped dead as he caught sight of Annora, and all the bandages that were on her, not to mention the sling that her left arm was currently in. A frown made its way across the twenty-year old's face as he leaned closer to his computer screen.

"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded. "Are you in a hospital?!"

"Umm… I plead the Fifth?" Annora asked as she grinned sheepishly. Ethan's expression darkened as he looked sternly at her.

"That's **not** an answer," he stated in no-nonsense tone. "Tell me what happened to you before I call Mom and Dad. Wait a sec, do they even know?"

Annora went pale at his question while Ed fiddled nervously with his State Alchemist pocket watch as he tried to stay out of sight. Ethan noticed this and scowled, his expression turning into one of frustrated anger.

"They don't know, do they?!" he accused. Annora looked ashamed at this while she frantically wracked her brain for a suitable explanation for what had happened to her.

"Ethan, please don't tell them," she pleaded frantically. "Look, I just had an accident at school and it was bad enough that I needed to go to the hospital, that's all."

"That's not good enough. What kind of accident?"

"I was playing football with some friends after school yesterday, and a couple of the seniors that were on the football team joined in, and I got tackled… by the biggest guy on the team…"

Ethan stared at her for a few minutes before he sighed and shook his head.

"You idiot, do you just wear a sign that says 'disaster prone' every day?"

"No."

Ed snickered at the comment, and then stopped when Annora sent a piercing glare his way.

"Well, it's true!" he protested. Annora just raised an eyebrow skeptically as she looked at him.

"Somehow, I think that we could say the same thing about you," she pointed out. Before Ed could say anything, Mustang came over and swiped Annora's laptop right from off her lap.

"Hey, give that back!"

"Who are you talking to?" he asked as he held the computer up to the level of his face.

"My brother, Ethan! Now give it back, Colonel Fathead!!"

Mustang smirked at her as he gave her a scolding look.

"Now, is that any way to address you elders and betters?"

"Screw you! Now give me back my laptop before I kick you where the sun doesn't shine!"

"I'd like to see you try, as injured as you are," the man pointed out in a smug manner. Annora gritted her teeth together before she exploded in a stream of obscenities, most of them centered around what she was going to do to Mustang once she got out of the hospital. Mustang stood there and waited for her to run out of breath before he looked at the web cam.

"Hello, I'm assuming that you are Private Ethan Thomas, am I right?" he asked in his best 'commanding officer' voice. Ethan looked at him in surprise as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… why do you want to know?"

"Good. I need to speak to you regarding the behavior of your sister, Annora. So far, I have seen that she lacks respect for those who hold -"

BAM!

Mustang didn't get much further than that because Annora threw a metal bedpan with all her strength at the man and hit him square in the back of his head. The Colonel dropped her laptop in surprise and Edward managed to catch it before it hit the ground and got broken. Annora let out a sigh of relief as Ed handed it back to her.

"Thanks."

The boy gave her a grin as he glanced over at Mustang, who was kneeling on the floor holding the huge lump that was now on his head.

"No problem. It's the least I can do after you **really** gave the Colonel Bastard a fat head."

"Fullmetal, shut up," Mustang growled, his dark eyes shining with fury. Ed smirked knowingly at the man while Annora rolled her eyes.

"Men," she muttered in an exasperated tone as she shook her head. Both Ed and Ethan cocked their eyebrows at her comment.

"I resent that comment," they both said simultaneously. Annora looked between the two before she burst out laughing.

"You two," she managed to get out before she started to laugh again. "You two are impossible."

Ethan made a face as he propped his chin on his hand.

"Again, I resent that comment," he responded dryly. "By the way, who was that guy that stole your computer?"

"Ed's boss," Annora muttered as she rolled her eyes. "It's not that he's just a prick, but he also has an ego the size of mainland Asia."

"Hey!" Mustang shouted while Ed and Havoc started to roar with laughter. Even Hawkeye smiled at the comment, even though you would have had to squint to see her smile. Ethan let out a throaty chuckle as he watched the scenario taking place in the hospital room with interest.

"Well, I see that you're in good hands then," he remarked. "It's obvious that you have people concerned about you enough to take the trouble to visit you."

He looked at his watch and scowled darkly.

"Crud. Well it looks like my time is up for today. I've probably gotta go get ready before the Major yells at me. Do me a favor though and tell that asswipe that stole your computer while you were talking to me that if I ever see him in person, I will **personally **kick his ass."

And with that lovely parting comment, Ethan logged off. Annora sweatdropped as she stared at her now blank computer screen before she gave a groan of aggravation and folded down the top of her laptop

"Okay, I am now officially wiped out," she muttered as she replaced her laptop in its carrying case and zipped it shut before she leaned back up against the pillows placed at the head of her hospital bed and closed her eyes. Mustang frowned as he stalked up to her bed angrily.

"Are you just going to go to sleep?" he growled. Annora cracked open one eye and gave a wane smile.

"Believe it or not, I'm exhausted," she pointed out as she closed her eyes again. "I only acted like my injuries weren't that big a deal because my brother would have raised holy hell if he had known otherwise."

Ed snickered at this comment while Mustang used a word that neither of the people in the room had ever heard him use. Annora ignored him as she tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately for her, Mustang suddenly brought up a topic that she really didn't want to discuss at the moment.

"Fullmetal, I have a question for you? Did you use alchemy in the men's room yesterday when you visited headquarters?"

Al suddenly got very nervous and tried to signal to Ed not to answer, but the sixteen-year old didn't see him.

"No, and I didn't visit-" He paused when he saw Al frantically making the throat slicing motion before he realized just how Annora had managed to get the liquid from Mustang. He was going to kill her once she got out of the hospital, at least after he had a few laughs at Mustang's expense. The teenage alchemist cleared his throat and started again.

"No, I didn't use alchemy in the men's room yesterday because I didn't use the bathroom before I left," he stated confidently.

Mustang seemed satisfied with this answer, because shortly after that, he and the rest of the people from Central left, leaving Ed, Al, and Annora alone. The two brothers looked at each other and let out a huge sigh of relief before they glanced over at Annora, who was sound asleep.

"Well Brother, it's not like you can say that the past few days have been boring," Al pointed out. Ed nodded in agreement as he rested his elbow on his knee.

"Yeah," he muttered softly as he watched Annora's slumbering form with an indescribable emotion in his golden eyes. Al noticed this immediately and decided that his brother needed some alone time.

"You must be hungry, Brother," he said as he stood up and went over to the door. "I'll go get you something to eat."

And with that, he left the room.

Ed seemed startled for a few moments before he leaned over and gently ran his left hand through Annora's honey-brown tresses, marveling silently at their silky softness.

"I'm glad that you're okay," he whispered as he watched the girl. Her features were softened in sleep, as the lively and often angry fire that normally danced in her eyes wasn't visible. He was surprised when she turned over in her sleep and muttered his name softly.

"Edward…"

The teenage alchemist looked stunned at her muttered comment before he smiled, reached over and held her good hand in his left one.

"Annora…"

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Yeah, this fic has a bit of Ed x Annora fluff, but that's about it. I'm not really that good at writing romance, so if this was too… oh, I don't know… lovey dovey for you, I'm sorry. That's inexperience talking, not my sick and twisted mind.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to check this out. To all of my reviewers from 'What One May Never See', thank you!! I love you all!!

The lyrics belong to _Stupid Girl_ by Cold. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters, otherwise I would be rich and this would be part of the series.


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